


Fading Dawns

by oleanderflowers



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Alternate Universe, Being Rrewritten, F/F, F/M, Kinda, M/M, Slow To Update, spy AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2020-04-12 10:23:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19130110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oleanderflowers/pseuds/oleanderflowers
Summary: With the town of Chorus being preyed upon by Charon Industries, the former freelancers and so called Reds and Blues need to step up their game before it's too late. And things start to go downhill when a proclaimed "helpful" mercenary shows up.(Note: This story is being rewritten and will be updated soon!)





	1. Yellow Rose of Texas Clad in Black

At Chorus Associates, there were many rules. And one of the most well known rules was to never mess with Agent Texas. It was common sense. Some people knew it, others had to learn it. And of course, the only way to learn it was the hard way. 

Now, Carolina may or may not have learned it the hard way. She was always pushing herself to be better and try to best Tex. Tex wasn’t only the best spy, but the best fighter as well. However, their rivalry decreased slightly when Tex started dating Church. Of course, Carolina was still pissed at Tex, but hey, what can you do about a terrifying badass who’s now dating your brother. Besides, Tex was the only one who could put up with Church’s complaining. And she could tell O’Malley what to do, a feat that no one else could achieve. She was, after all, one of the leaders of the entire Chorus spy program. She, Church, Doyle, and Kimball had created the program after an increase in activities of their rivals, Charon Industries. Back in the old days, when Carolina and her state-named friends were still hireable freelancers, Carolina was the leader. Then Tex came in and took over, and things got chaotic. The group broke apart and it wasn’t till much later that Carolina was reunited with her friend Washington. That’s when she met the so called “Reds and Blues”. 

At first, she wasn’t sure what to think of these ragtag misfits that Washington had somewhat adopted. To Carolina, they were color coded idiots who had no idea what they were doing. But it wasn’t long before she became great friends with them. She realized that these quote unquote Red and Blue people relied on each other for help. Then they ran into Doyle and Kimball, the leaders of Chorus, a small town hidden away from the rest of the world. The town of Chorus was being preyed upon by Charon Industries, so they began sending Chorusians out to gather information on who was leading Charon and what they wanted. That became Chorus’s main goal, aside from trying to stay alive. By the time the Reds and Blues came into the equation, a majority of the ex-freelancers were already working there, including Tex. So now Carolina was here in this small town, helping the others in their struggle to survive. Or, more specifically, she was sitting in the meeting room with Kimball, Doyle, Tex, Church, and York.

 

“So, why’re we here?” Church inquired. “Also, what is my sister and York doing here?”

“According to Tex, Carolina and York used to be in charge back when they were freelancers - or guns for hire. They deserve to be here,” Kimball replied before standing up from the table they were assembled at. Doyle also stood up, looking nervous. He had been silent ever since the meeting started. 

“This is going to be hard…” Kimball closed her eyes and took a breath. “Cunningham and Rogers are dead.” 

Silence filled the room. No one really knew how to react to the death of two eighteen-year-olds. Finally, Carolina said, “Jesus. What happened to them?”

Doyle spoke up this time. “Locus happened. Charles Palomo found them this morning, both already dead.” 

“Damn. They were so young…” York trailed off, frowning. Cunningham and Rogers had only been a year older than the trainees and often worked with them, especially Palomo. Church looked paler than usual and his eyes were wide with shock. 

“I didn’t think Locus would do something like this,” he mumbled. 

“Exactly. Whoever is behind Charon is getting impatient. Why else would Locus kill two kids? We need to start fighting back,” Tex exclaimed, slamming her fist down on the table as she stood up. “We need to get more information  _ fast _ . Send Washington out! Send the trainees out! Even send out the Triplets if you have to! If we find out who’s behind all of this, we can finally focus on defeating them!”

“If we send more people out, there’s just a higher chance for them to be killed,” Doyle explained, looking slightly terrified to be opposing Tex’s idea.

“Both if you are right. We do need to send people out, but not too many. We need people who Charon would never recognize or take as a threat. And I have just the right people in mind.” Kimball paused, looking around at everyone in the room. 

“And who may that be?” asked York. Kimball took a deep breath before answering:

“The Reds and Blues, of course.”

 

Church didn’t like it one bit. As soon as the meeting was over, he stormed out of the meeting room with the most pissed off expression. Carolina quickly went after him, hoping to see what made her brother so mad. Though honestly, she was pretty sure she already knew why.

Church kept walking until he made it out of the building. He then stopped and leaned against one of the walls, clenching his fists. Carolina stood next to him and crossed her arms. “Are you going to tell me why you stormed out of there like an angry child or what?”

Church went off. “So apparently it’s too dangerous to send Chorusans out, but it’s perfectly fine to send  _ my  _ friends out! They could end up just like Cunningham and Rogers! Yet Kimball thinks she can just throw them out into the world for no reason except that no one will suspect them. They’re going to end up  _ dead  _ because of her! Goddamnit!” Church’s voice got higher pitched and louder with every sentence until he was quite literally screeching. Carolina put a comforting hand on his shoulder. 

“Hey, you don’t have to worry. They have us! More importantly, they have each other. We’ll be alright,” she reassured him. Church sighed. 

“I know, ‘Lina. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to be pissed about it. And it definitely doesn’t mean I’m not going to complain about it.” Church smiled, calming down a bit. “I understand why they’re doing it but it just makes me feel like Kimball and Doyle aren’t taking my friends’ safety seriously.”

“I assure you, they definitely care about the Reds and Blues. Everyone here does. That reminds me, why do you have color coded teams?” Carolina inquired.

 Her brother replied with, “It’s a long story. And a very confusing story.” Carolina shrugged but didn’t ask anything more. Instead, the green-eyed girl and her brother began to walk together, taking in everything around them. They stopped to watch Simmons, Grif, Tucker, and Caboose mess around with Jensen, Bitters, Palomo, and Andersmith. Tucker was showing off his cool alien light sword to Palomo, who thought this was awesome. Out of the entire group, the only ones actually training looked to be Caboose and Andersmith. Or, rather, they were wrestling together with Caboose’s gigantic dog, affectionately named Freckles. When Caboose looked up and saw Church, he grinned and waved excitedly. Church waved back, smiling slightly. Carolina nudged Church’s shoulder and whispered, “Should we tell them?”

Church shook his head. “I’ll let Kimball and Doyle give them the news when we’re all together.” 

The two yelled goodbye to the others before continuing on their walk. They ran into Washington next. Carolina playfully punched his shoulder, smirking. She, Church, and Washington chatted for a while, listening to Wash’s stories about how North pretended to be Theta’s dad again and how Donut was acting weird ever since he got home late last night. Carolina and Church then continued on their way, enjoying the comfortable silence until Carolina poked Church and told him, “I’m going out to town tonight with York.”

“You’re WHAT?! Why am I just hearing about this? And why do you two think it’s a smart idea to go out alone after what just happened?!” Church screeched, moving his hands wildly to further express his anger. Part of Carolina was amazed about how quickly he could change from calm and collected to completely and utterly pissed. Though honestly, she was pretty sure that Church was never calm and collected.

“Church! Relax! York and I can handle ourselves! Just because I’m your ‘little sister’ doesn’t mean I can’t take care of myself,” Carolina snapped. 

Church fumed, stuttering slightly. “You expect me to be fine with York taking you out on a  _ date _ ?! What if something happens?”

Carolina sighed exasperatedly. Church kept rambling, yelling about how it was dangerous and how she and York had just started dating. He just went on and on and on  _ and on.  _ Carolina stopped walking and put her hands on her hips, waiting for him to shut up. When her black haired brother was finally done his screeching, Carolina said, “Finally, you’re done. Okay listen. York and I will be  _ fine. _ Besides, we need to get out for a night. It’s been so stressful here lately and York and I just want some time alone and away from Chorus. I’m tired of you not trusting me to do things by myself. But we can talk about this another time. I have more important things to do.”

And with that, Carolina swiftly walked away.


	2. We've Been Here So Long

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felix gets a new job. He's not sure what to think of it. Locus is emo.

Felix wasn’t happy. In fact, he was beyond pissed. “He expects me to be just dandy with pretending to help those idiots?! Why can’t I stay here and shoot those morons!” he ranted, pacing angrily around the training room. Locus was leaning against the wall next to the door, looking impatient. Felix stopped in front of Locus and pointed at him angrily. “Why do you get to stay here while I have to pretend to be a nice person?!” he demanded. 

Locus sighed before replying, “You said it yourself; you’re the people person. Besides, they already know who I am.” Felix frowned and went back to pacing. 

They had just gotten back from a mission briefing where Control had informed them that Felix would be sent to Chorus as a spy. Felix would have to gain everyone’s trust and until they could plan their final attack. There was something, however, that seemed different. Control specifically ordered Felix to focus on a certain group that called themselves the “Reds and Blues”. When asked about them by Felix, Locus had mentioned that he saw these color coded people around and how Felix didn’t have to worry about them because they were idiots. 

Felix whipped around to face one of the wooden targets positioned around the training room and unsheathed a knife from his belt. The brown-haired mercenary threw the knife with incredible skill, watching as it sunk into the middle of the target with a satisfying thunk. He took a deep breath before walking over to Locus, standing in front of him. Felix had to look up to make eye contact with Locus, as he was at least a foot taller. 

“Tell me more about these people I’m ‘helping’. I want to know everything you know about them,” Felix snapped, apparently still not calm or happy. As always, Locus was completely unfazed. 

“Alright. There are four main leaders of Chorus, though they all work together relatively well. The group that you’ve been assigned to is rather… interesting. They seem to have a slight rivalry, though none of them really act on it,” Locus reported. 

“How many are there? Is there anyone I should categorize as a possible threat?” Locus didn’t appreciate the onslaught of questions, but he answered them nevertheless. 

“Last I checked, there were ten of them. As I said, most of them are complete idiots. The two former freelancers might be a bit of a problem, but we can make sure they don’t get in the way.” 

Felix’s expression turned thoughtful for a moment as he took in the information before shrugging and walking out of the training room. Locus didn’t even ask where he was going. 

Locus stayed in the training room, staring down at the ground. He was more than a little annoyed at Felix’s antics but was honestly used to it. Locus knew the Chorusans knew about him, as he was often out following them with his cloaking device. It was only at times when the people he was following were alone when Locus would attack. Just like those two kids he had disposed of. They had no idea of what danger they were in until it was too late. 

Locus never questioned his orders. He was a perfect soldier, a perfect machine. He followed his orders because he had to, not because he wanted to. Felix was a bit more choosy about his orders, taking joy in the morbid ones and disappointment in the boring ones. Control had hired the two mercenaries about a month ago, and Locus could remember the day they were hired like it was yesterday. 

_ Felix and Locus has just finished a mission when they learned about Charon Industries. They had been in their hideout located just outside the big city, looking through the money that their latest employer had given them. Felix was smirking, probably making a joke about how great it was to be paid to kill when there was a loud knock on the door. Locus began to move towards the door but Felix reached it before him. “I’ll see who it is. I’m the people person, remember?” the mercenary joked before opening the door. _

_ There was no one there. “Wait, you heard that knock, right? I’m not going insane?” Felix asked. Locus nodded. “Okay. I swear, if this is a prank then I am going to kill whoever it is myself for-” _

_ Felix stopped talking as he noticed an envelope on the ground. He bent down to pick it up before returning inside and walking over to the table. Locus walked up behind him, looking at the envelope from over the smaller merc’s shoulder. Felix ripped the envelope open and unfolded the letter that resides inside.  _

_ “To the esteemed hireable mercenaries Felix and Locus: It has come to my attention that you two are the best mercenaries who happen to be in this area. Your prior employer told me all about how perfect you two were and how you got the job done quickly. Because of this, I would like to hire you. If you’re interested in the offer, come to the main Charon Industries building outside the city. The address is on the back of the letter. I hope to see you gentlemen there. Sincerely, Malcolm Hargrove.” _

_ As Felix finished reading the letter aloud, he looked up at Locus. “I think we have ourselves a job, don’t you agree?” _

And ever since then, Locus and Felix had been at Charon Industries’ Headquarters, doing multiple dirty jobs with the promise of a boatload of cash. There were others working at Charon that were just as shady as the mercs. Everyone working there had some sort of criminal past. Well, almost everyone. There was those three people who had no idea what Control was planning and were just sent out for “info”. Locus tried to recall their names but could only remember that one of them went by Sherry. 

Locus looked down at his hands, his thoughts returning to Felix. The two had started working together when they realized how unstoppable they could be if they were on the same team. At first the two hated each other, but after a year or so they formed a mutual respect for the other. This didn’t stop Felix from teasing Locus and being a narcissistic little shit, but hey, what do you expect. 

After another couple minutes of contemplating life, Locus left the training room. He made his way to the room he and Felix had to share and noticed that the smaller mercenary was already there. 

“Why did you come here?” Locus asked. 

Felix shrugged before replying, “I wanted to think.” This was unusual. 

Locus frowned. “About what?”

Felix looked Locus straight in the eyes with a smile that had quite an edge to it. “You know, tricking and killing a bunch of hapless idiots seems like it could be fun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah yes two chapters in one day. This chapter's name is from the song "Contact" by Trocadero.  
> eyyyy flashback times yeet


	3. Purple Hearts Are Tugging At Our Sleeves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donut brings someone home. Felix shows up. Iowa gets his tongue stuck to a metal pole even though it's not even winter yet.

Washington had been through a lot of weird things. There was that time when Caboose had somehow saved the day with the “power of friendship”, the time when Sarge managed to get himself banned from at least five shops in the big city, and that other time when Tex saved Church from a fight by putting him in a headlock and dragging him away while fending off the attackers. All things aside, today was no different. Except that it totally was. It had started off like any other Sunday morning; Wash would wake up, eat breakfast with the rest of the team, and then set off to do whatever it was he had to do. And on this certain day, he went out to the outskirts of Chorus to fix up some defenses. 

The first weird thing was that Donut left Chorus early, around 9 am, claiming he had to go to the big city. No one asked him why, and he didn’t tell anyone why. Of course, this was a mistake, as Donut returned a few hours later with an unfamiliar man. Wash’s first thoughts when he saw his blond friend walking towards him while pulling along a brown-haired man with glasses clad in a purple flannel were that he was seeing things. This quickly changed when Wash realized that he was not seeing things and that Donut was really bringing some random person home. 

“Who the fuck is this?” Washington demanded as soon as Donut and the man with glasses approached. 

Donut smiled. “Oh! This is Doc!” The man, apparently named Doc, gave Wash a little wave. “He’s a medic, he can help us!”

Washington stared at Donut before asking, “You’re telling me that you brought some random guy to Chorus just because he knows some medical stuff?!”

“Uh, yeah. And he’s nice!” Donut replied with a wide grin. Wash argued with Donut as Doc stood off to the side, looking very nervous. In the end, Washington gave up and decided to let Tex and Kimball deal with this.

As the two walked away, Wash went back to patrolling around the outskirts of Chorus. And that’s when the second extremely weird thing happened. Around this time, Church and Carolina had come out to keep Wash company. Something must’ve happened between them because Carolina was refusing to look at her brother and Church looked both angry and guilty at the same time. The three had taken a break to eat lunch together when another unfamiliar person approached them. It was a man with lightish brown hair who was wearing a black and orange shirt. As he approached, Church leaned closer to Wash and whispered, “Hey, that guy’s face kinda looks like a mutant rat.” 

Washington started to laugh but was silenced by Carolina’s searing glare. Carolina approached the stranger, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. From what Wash could see, the stranger was unarmed except for the knife hanging from his belt.

“Who are you and why are you here?” Carolina sounded about as friendly as she currently looked. 

The stranger was completely unfazed and simply answered, “I know what predicament Chorus is in. I’ve come to offer my assistance in your battle against Charon Industries. My name is Felix.”

* * *

By the time Wash, Carolina, Church, and this new Felix guy returned to Chorus, the sun was beginning to set. Tex was waiting for them at the entrance. “Oh great, another new person,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. After being hassled by Tex, Carolina and Church took Felix to go meet with Kimball and Doyle. Wash stayed behind for a second, wanting to ask Tex a question.

“Hey, where’s that guy that Donut brought home earlier?”

“Oh, you mean Doc? Well, we decided we can trust him for now. We still have no idea  _ why  _ Donut brought him here but hey, the more help we can get the better. They’re currently helping out Dr. Grey in the medical ward,” Tex replied, seeming calmer than usual. “I don’t know about that guy you and the siblings just brought in. He seems odd.”

Wash nodded in agreement before running to catch up with the others, who had already met with Kimball and Doyle in the meeting room. Kimball looked absolutely exhausted but still stood up tall.

“Alright, so you say your name is Felix, correct?” Kimball asked the man.

 “Correct. I’m a mercenary. I heard of your struggles and decided to offer my help. I know of Charon Industries, and I believe what they are doing is wrong. I also have information on their mercenary, Locus,” Felix explained. 

Washington noted that the mercenary had a strange glint in his eye and inquired, “How did you learn of this?”

“As I said, I’m a mercenary. I have my ways.” Felix’s tone was slightly cold in a way that could make others question whether or not they wanted to know about his “ways”. 

“You mentioned you had information on Locus. What kind of information?” It was Doyle who spoke up this time. 

Felix glanced at him before giving his answer. “I know Locus’ patrol schedule and where he is at certain times.” Kimball then asked if Felix could leave the room so she could talk to the others in private. After the merc obliged, Carolina stepped forward, crossing her arms. 

“So are we just going to trust this guy and let him work with us?” she demanded, still sounding very pissed off. 

“Do we have a choice?” Church interjected. “I mean, according to Kimball, my friends and I are the new hope. If we have this mercenary guy watching our backs and giving us valid information, we’ll have a higher chance on finding out who’s behind Charon Industries. I bet he could also keep us safe while we’re out. Besides, we can keep an eye on him.”

This was unusual for Church, as he usually bitched about stuff like this. Wash figured that their predicament was relatively bad for Church to be not complaining. 

Carolina and Kimball expressed their concerns while Doyle and Church both agreed that trusting Felix would be better. Washington felt like he was somewhere in the middle. He wanted this shit to end but was worried about what Tex said about Felix. Either way, Wash hoped everyone would stop arguing soon.

* * *

Felix stood outside the meeting room with a smirk on his face. He could hear the others arguing about whether they could trust him or not. Honestly, Felix predicted it would be relatively easy to gain their trust. He just had to be dramatic, act like he cared, and maybe even do something relatively good. All he had to do now was wait to meet the Reds and Blues. 

Felix straightened as the door to the meeting room slid open. The blond man with the bags under his eyes motioned for Felix to come in. Once he did, the tall dark skinned woman with brown hair, whom Felix knew was Vanessa Kimball, walked up to him and reported, “We’ve decided to accept your offer to help. If you don’t already know, my name is Kimball. Doyle and I,” Kimball motioned over to the man with messy light brown hair and glasses, “are the leaders of Chorus. The redhead is Agent Carolina and Church is the one with the black hair.” Kimball then pointed towards the blond man and introduced him as Agent Washington.  _ Oh, so the redhead and the blond are the former freelancers _ , Felix thought to himself. 

“I’m very happy that you accepted my offer. While I was outside the room, I couldn’t help but overhear the talk of a group needing my help. May I inquire who?” Felix asked, faking politeness. 

“That would be the Reds and Blues. Church and Washington are members of that group. We’re sending them out in hopes that they can discover who is running Charon,” Doyle responded. 

Felix smirked. “Oh, I think I can help with that.”

The mercenary was cut off by the door to the meeting room bursting open as two men and a woman ran into the room. Carolina’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Ohio? Iowa? Idaho? What are you three doing?” she exclaimed. 

“OH MY GOD YOU WON’T BELIEVE IT BUT WE JUST FOUND SOMETHING OUT!” one of the guys yelled, extremely overexcited. Felix frowned, as he had no idea who these new people were. Nevertheless, he needed to know if they were a threat and what information they found out.

* * *

Washington was not pleased when Iowa burst through the door and started yelling about something. Ohio and Idaho looked just as excited, but Ohio was trying to calm Iowa down. They didn’t even notice the mercenary standing in front of Kimball. Iowa rambled on about what had just happened to him. It made absolutely no sense to Wash until Doyle and Kimball broke it down.

“Er, so you got your tongue stuck to a metal pole somewhere in the city and overheard some people talk about Charon?” Doyle inquired after Iowa was finished speaking. The former freelancer nodded enthusiastically. 

“Yeah there was two guys and a girl and the guys were complaining about working at Charon while the girl was yellin’ at them. Also, the pole tasted like White Russians. The drink, not the people,” Iowa explained. Ohio looked slightly embarrassed about how her friend discovered this. 

Wash sighed and put his head in his hands. Today just kept getting weirder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yea, three chapters in one day. Surprise! And the Triplets came in! yey  
> The realization of "oh wow i'm writing a fanfic that people are reading" just hit me so yea I'm probably not going to sleep tonight.  
> I'm sorry if the story seems slightly rushed, I'm trying to fix that. There's just stuff that I really wanna get to for the plot and yeah.  
> Also I like saying "nevertheless". It just sounds cool.


	4. Cobalt Blue, The Wisdom In Your Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Church hopes to have at least one normal day. The Triplets meet some dashing new people.

Since Sunday, everything had been chaos. First Doc, then Felix, and then the Triplets showing up with their new discovery. It was only Wednesday morning and Church was already done with everything. 

Church was sitting in the kitchen residing in Blue Base with a coffee so loaded with creamer and sugar that it was almost as pale as he was. He recalled how excited the Triplets had been to set out on their mission. 

The door to the kitchen swung open as Tex trudged inside, wearing a black tanktop and black jeans. She nodded at Church before pouring herself a cup of plain black coffee. 

“Jesus, how much sugar did you put in there?” she asked as she sat beside Church.

“Enough to get me through the day,” the black haired man replied, pushing his glasses further up his face. 

Tex was about to reply when the door opened again, this time revealing Tucker and Caboose. “Hey Church,” greeted Tucker. Church acknowledged his dark skinned friend with a nod. 

Caboose bounded over to the kitchen table with a wide grin on his face and plopped down in the seat on Church’s other side. He was followed by the large and imposing dog, Freckles.

Caboose had found Freckles a few years ago when the dog was still a puppy. Back then, Freckles had been small and nice. Now he was a hellhound who Church was pretty sure wanted everyone except Caboose dead.

Church noticed Caboose looking longingly at his coffee. “No, Caboose. You can’t have any coffee.” 

Caboose frowned until Church continued, “But I’ll get you hot chocolate later. Okay buddy?”

“Okay!” Caboose replied, smiling again. His attention was then diverted by Washington entering the kitchen. “Agent Washingtub! Come over here!” the blue clad man encouraged.

Wash poured himself a ginormous cup of coffee and sat down across from Caboose. “Did you get some sleep?” Church asked him. 

“No. York told me that if I sleep for any more than three hours my heart will explode from the sheer amount of coffee I’ve had.”

For a moment, Church couldn’t tell if Washington was being serious or if he was joking. Based on his sincere concerned expression, Wash most likely believed whatever nonsense York told him.

Tex furrowed her brow and asked, “Are you sure that’s true?” 

Wash glanced at her. “Yeah! Delta backed him up and we all know how smart Delta is.” 

Tex leaned in close to Church. “It surprises me how Wash can still be the dorky rookie he was back in our freelancer days despite him adopting you all,” she whispered with a smirk on her face. She then turned to Wash and inquired, “If that’s true then why hasn’t Church’s heart exploded?”

Church glared at his blonde girlfriend as Tucker began laughing and replied, “I ask myself that question every day.” Caboose just looked extremely concerned about the idea of his best friend’s heart exploding.

There was a commotion from over by the cupboards as the box of pancake mix fell on Tucker’s head. “Goddamnit!” Tucker cried out, putting his hands on his head. The aqua wearing man had attempted to reach the pancake mix but was too short. Church may or may not have purposely put the pancake mix on the top shelf. 

After a few comments about Tucker being short and a “Shut up asshole” from the short aqua clad man, Church got up from his seat and picked up the pancake mix from the floor.

“Here, shortie,” he teased as he handed the mix to his friend. Tucker glared at him angrily but took the pancake mix and continued making breakfast. 

In about ten minutes, everything was ready. Tucker brought the intense amount of pancakes over to the table and set it down before giving everyone plates and utensils. Caboose happily helped himself to a stack of thirteen pancakes slathered in syrup and butter while Wash and Church just took two each. Tex surprised everyone by taking seven pancakes. Church had thought she only ran on coffee and maybe other’s tears.

After Washington accidentally spilled syrup on the table, Church got up to go get paper towels. He was halfway to the counter when he heard a loud  _ crash  _ followed by an equally loud “Tucker did it!”. Turning around, Church saw that his coffee mug was lying broken on the floor with coffee puddled around it. 

“Goddamnit Caboose! Now I have to clean the floor and everything! I can’t believe-”

Church was cut off by a loud knock. “Oh for God’s sake who is it?!” He stormed over to the door and pulled it open only to be greeted by a tiny blond child. 

“Oh, hey Theta. What’s up?” Church’s voice softened as he talked to the small child standing in front of him. 

“Hey Church! North is gonna take me out to the big city today to get a new skateboard and he was wonderin’ if you and Tex wanted to go!” Theta explained cheerfully. Church then noticed North standing behind Theta, wearing a purple shirt with green trim. 

“I’ll ask Tex,” Church reassured. He turned around and saw that Tex was giving him a thumbs-up. “Alright buddy. We can come! When are we going?” 

“In about twenty minutes,” North replied. Theta beamed and yelled, “I’m so happy that you two are coming!”

Church smiled. He could finally get a break away from his teammates and enjoy the day with Tex, North and Theta. It sounded like fun.

* * *

The bar was relatively empty, though that was expected since it was relatively early on a Wednesday. Ohio was mostly thankful for this, as she didn’t want to accidentally lose Iowa or Idaho. Getting to the bar had already been a hassle, as Iowa had spotted a spider and freaked out for about five minutes straight. As Ohio ushered her two friends into the barroom, she quietly asked Iowa if they were at the right place. 

“Yep! The girl promised the two guys she would buy them a drink on Wednesday. And that’s today!” Iowa whispered, sounding very sure. The three let the door close behind them and looked around. 

Noticing three people sitting at the bar, Ohio pointed at them and asked, “Is that them?”

Iowa looked thoughtful for a moment and replied, “I think so.” 

“Alright, everyone remember codenames. Only call each other by our state names. And if they ask, then just say it’s how we’re named or something,” Ohio reminded her teammates.

“Uh, if they’re Charon workers then won’t they recognize our names or realize we’re working for Chorus?” Idaho inquired. Ohio obviously hadn’t thought about this, so she just told Idaho to shush before approaching the three proclaimed Charon workers. 

The female of the group had lightly tanned skin and styled light brown hair. She was wearing a red and white shirt while the two guys were wearing matching grey and red shirts. One of the guys had darker tan skin and black hair while the other had brown hair and blue eyes. As the Triplets approached, the male with the black hair looked up and noticed them. He nudged the other guy and said, “Hey Terril, look! It’s that guy who got his tongue stuck to the pole a few days ago!” 

Iowa was ecstatic that they remembered him. “Yeah! It’s me!” he cheerfully exclaimed. He and Idaho sat down besides the boys and struck up conversation. Ohio found herself staring at the lady and her heart gave a little skip as they made eye contact. Ohio blushed slightly and looked away before sitting down next to her. 

“Hey, uh, my name’s Ohio. Thanks for helping my friend get his tongue unstuck.” Ohio was being genuinely polite, as she kinda sorta maybe thought that this lady was cute. 

“No problem. My name’s Sherry,” the woman replied. The two began conversing but were cut off when Iowa’s voice rang out. 

“Yea Ezra and Vera and I are really cool special secret people!” Iowa explained. Idaho quickly shushed him and reminded him to use codenames.

Ohio sighed. This was going nothing like she had thought it would.

* * *

The city was bustling with people as Church, Tex, North, and Theta walked through the streets. Theta was busy telling everyone about what skateboard he wanted to buy and about how awesome it was going to be to ride it. The hint of frost in the air had caused everyone to dress warmly. Theta was wearing a magenta hoodie, Tex had on a black leather jacket, and Church was sporting a well-worn cobalt blue long-sleeved shirt. 

Theta was holding on to North’s hand and was practically pulling him along the sidewalk. Ever since Theta, Delta, O’Malley, Eta, and Iota came to Chorus without any parents, Theta instantly took a liking to North. After a while, the former freelancer became a father figure for Theta, taking him places and even letting him tag along on non-dangerous missions. Now that Theta was ten, North could take him more places without Delta getting too worried. 

Church walked besides the tiny blond child, taking in the sights around him. Checking his wristwatch, Church saw that it was now around 9 am. He was still tired and hadn’t been able to drink all of his coffee thanks to Caboose spilling it. However, Church was actually enjoying this. Part of that might be because he was holding Tex’s hand as she walked next to him. 

After crossing an intersection, Theta pointed towards an upcoming shop. “That’s where the skateboard I want is!” he exclaimed and began walking faster. The four entered the store and Theta made his way over to the back wall where a vast variety of skateboards were hanging. 

Church watched as Theta pointed to a magenta skateboard that had a black circle with a horizontal line on it. His eyes were sparkling with excitement and glee. With North’s help, Theta got the skateboard from the wall and brought it over to the checkout counter. North paid for it and handed it over to Theta.

“You sure you can carry that, bud?” North asked. 

“Mhm!” Theta replied. Church found it funny that the skateboard was almost bigger than Theta. 

Their next plan in action was to get lunch at Theta’s favorite restaurant, which was a few blocks away. It seemed simple enough, but nothing could ever be perfect. About halfway to the restaurant, Church’s comm device began beeping like crazy. 

“ _ Church, come in Church…”  _ The voice from the comm device sounded like it belonged to Kimball. The four stopped walking and Tex leaned in closer to hear what was happening.

“Yeah, this is Church. I’m at the city with Tex, North, and Theta. What’s up?” Church asked, running a hand through his dark hair. He heard a sigh. 

_ “I’m really sorry to interrupt your day out but we have a problem. We need you and Texas back here right now. The Reds are in danger.” _

Church turned paler than seemed physically possible and looked pissed. “Fuck fuck fuck! I can’t even have  _ one fucking day  _ without anything happening!”

North grimaced and quickly covered Theta’s ears in attempt to block out Church’s stream of profanity. Tex was frowning as she muttered, “What the fuck did they do this time?” 

“You two should probably see what’s up… Theta and I will catch up later,” North chimed. Church nodded and quickly apologized for not being able to stay before Tex grabbed his hand and began running. 

Church could only hope that the Reds weren’t in too much trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout-out to my sister for changing the line "on coffee and bitter things" to "on coffee and maybe other's tears". Also, this fanfic exists because I kinda got jealous that my sister was coming up with so many cool fanfic ideas and I wanted to write one too.  
> This fanfic is experimental, as it is one of the first fanfics I've ever written. 
> 
> Poor Church. Nothing can ever go the way he wants things to. Also, the skateboard Theta got has the theta symbol on it. I'm so clever


	5. When We Were Soldiers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grif and Simmons try to get some info and stuff goes wrong when Locus shows up.

The desolate landscape seemed to stretch for miles and miles until the facility came into view. “Please tell me that’s the place we need to be,” Grif remarked, nudging Simmons’ arm. 

Simmons and Grif were on a simple mission; they had been sent to recover information from an abandoned Charon facility. They were told it would be quick and easy, and it sure did seem that way.

The hard part, of course, was the walking. It felt like they’d been walking for hours, and Grif was about to collapse. Why couldn’t Sarge have lent them the Warthog?

“Alright, so according to Felix, there should be some data files around here,” Simmons chimed as the two entered the building. Grif glanced over at his cyborg friend clad in maroon. He looked nervous and kept doing that thing where he pushed his glasses further up his face for no reason. 

Grif turned to face Simmons and asked, “Why are you so nervous? It’s not like anything bad is going to happen.” As if on cue, a single loud shot rang out. Both men were startled by it and looked around for where the gunshot could’ve come from. 

They heard Locus before they saw him, for a deep voice rang out from somewhere in the room. “I’m afraid you won’t be finding anything today.” 

Grif wasn’t sure what scared him more, the fact that Locus had just materialized in front of them, or the fact that about four other imposing figures with guns had also showed up. Grif had heard stories about the cloaking device given to certain Charon workers, but he had never before seen them up close. 

As soon as he saw the new threat, Simmons’ started to go into shock. He grabbed Grif’s hand and pulled him into one of the other rooms before grabbing his comm device and radioing in to Kimball.

“Kimball, anyone, this is Simmons and Grif! We reached the facility but Locus is here!” Simmons exclaimed, practically yelling into the comm device. He was panicking, and Grif didn’t blame him. 

“ _ He’s there? But Felix said the place was abandoned… Damnit! We’ll send help right away, I just need to-”  _ Kimball’s voice was cut off as a loud gunshot rang out and the comm device got quite literally shot out of Simmons’ hand.

“Jesus holy shit!” Grif yelled as he watched the comm device hit the floor. Simmons was straight up speechless. Grif looked over to see Locus in the doorway, his sniper rifle still smoking from the last shot. “Fuck! We have to go!”

Grif grabbed on to Simmons’ arm and started running. The heavyset man led his friend through different rooms as Locus and the other Charon workers open fired. Adrenaline kicked in as the two friends made their way towards the exit, running out into the sunlight. Realizing they were out in the open and perfect targets, Grif and Simmons dove behind a rock.

“I thought Felix said this place was abandoned! There’s not supposed to be anyone here!” Simmons yelled, pressing himself closer to the ground to avoid the flurry of bullets overhead. The look on his face proved that he was scared out of his fucking mind. 

“I know! That’s why we have to run!” Grif was already out of breath, and their situation wasn’t looking too good. The gunshots were getting closer. Simmons was beginning to fall out of his shocked state and began assessing the situation. 

“Okay, okay… So we have Locus, who’s one hell of a shot, and…  _ four  _ other gunners,” Simmons observed, his voice cracking slightly. 

“So in other words, we’re fucking screwed,” Grif finished. “Shit, these gunshots are way too close for comfort. We have to run. On three.” God, he hated running. Taking a deep breath, he began to count. “One, two…”

“ _ THREE!”  _ The two quickly stood up and ran, zig-zagging in random directions in an attempt to throw the gunners off. 

“Thank god for adrenaline rushes,” Grif muttered under his breath. He looked to see that Simmons was running slightly faster, as he had longer legs and was somewhat more athletic. 

“Come on, Grif! We just have to get out of their line of sight, and then maybe we can -” 

Simmons let out a cry of pain as he staggered and fell to the ground. Grif stopped running and stared in horror at the blood pooling around his friend’s leg. The realization of that Simmons had just been shot dawned on him. 

“Aw, shit! No!” Grif knelt down besides Simmons and observed the wound. The bullet had hit Simmons’ lower right leg, a little bit below his knee.

There was just so much blood. Grif didn’t know what to do. Panic was setting in.

Grif helped Simmons sit up, though he could tell that his maroon clad friend was in a lot of pain. “Simmons, we gotta go. Come on, don’t give up,” Grif pleaded, attempting to stop the blood flow. Simmons’ blood was covering Grif’s hands as he pressed down on the wound. Simmons grimaced and tried not to cry out again. 

The bullets ceased as a shadow fell over the two friends. Grif looked up to see Locus standing in front of them, looking as emotionless as he usually was. Grif stole a quick look at his friend’s face, which was a mixture of pain and fear. 

“How unfortunate,” Locus noted, gazing at the two in front of him. 

Locus opened his mouth to continue but was cut off by Grif yelling, “Fuck you asshole!”

Locus completely ignored him and was going to speak before one of the Charon workers behind him interrupted him. “Hey, uh, boss? Do you hear that music?” the guy asked, looking confused. Locus was more than a little pissed off that he kept being interrupted but soon heard the music the worker was talking about. It sounded like… tejano music?

Grif breathed out a sigh of relief as the familiar music reached his ears. “Hey Simmons, I think the Warthog is here,” he told his friend.

“The… Warthog?” Locus repeated, sounding very uncertain and confused.

Using the zoom scope of his sniper rifle, Locus looked out into the distance to see some sort of open-roofed jeep vehicle driving towards them. As it sped into view, Locus could see who was driving the vehicle and recognized them to be the other members of the so called Red Team. An older man clad in red was driving while a pink wearing man with blond hair and a bored looking brown haired man with tan skin were standing in the backseat. 

The tejano music grew louder as the vehicle approached and the bored looking man pulled out a gun and began shooting at Locus and the other Charon workers, who scattered. The vehicle came to a stop besides Grif and Simmons. Grif was never this happy to see the others before.

“Come on, sons! Get in!” Sarge commanded. Donut hopped out of the back to help Grif lift Simmons into the car while Lopez provided covering fire. 

“Shotgun!” Grif called, jumping into the shotgun seat as soon as Simmons was safely laid out on the backseat, resulting with him literally laying in both Lopez and Donut’s laps. 

“ _ ¡Conducir! _ ” {Drive!} Lopez exclaimed. Sarge hit the gas pedal and the Warthog lurched forward, leaving Locus and the other enemies behind. 

“Once you two radioed in to Kimball, she told us about what was happening and we came hard and fast!” Donut explained. “Hey Simmons, once we get back we should have Doc look at your leg. He’s great at plugging holes!”

Simmons only slightly acknowledged Donut’s comment, as he was fading out of consciousness. “I wish you’d phrased that better,” Grif remarked.

Grif was calming down from the whole thing. He was okay. Simmons was okay. It was all going to be okay.

Well, unless Sarge crashed the Warthog. Then they would probably die. But hey, at least they have each other to rely on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhhhh  
> This chapter's name is from the song "When We Were Soldiers" by Trocadero  
> I was writing this and it got depressing and then i just looked over and saw a really great stick figure Doc drawing i did and loved it so much  
> Also i've never cursed this much before ah


	6. None Can Tell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bitters doesn't feel safe around Felix, and Felix is a tad scary when he's bored.

Bitters learned early on in his life that nothing was ever normal at Chorus. So when the Reds drove in and instantly made their way towards the medical bay, it didn’t surprise him.

He was sitting outside with the other trainees; Jensen, Palomo, and Andersmith. Matthews had stayed back at the barracks, insisting he needed to find something. 

As soon as Sarge’s car — affectionately named the Warthog — came to a stop outside the town, the trainees watched as Kimball, Doyle, Church, and Tex rushed out to meet them. Everyone seemed very frantic and rushed.

As the trainees watched, the Reds and the others began heading in the direction of the medical bay. They looked to be carrying a familiar redheaded cyborg, and Bitters could only guess that something bad happened.

When Jensen saw this, she looked a little worried but turned towards the others and chimed, “I’m sure that whatever happened to them, they’re fine!” Andersmith nodded in agreement. Bitters wondered how the two could stay so positive no matter how dark the situation was. It was like they blocked out all negativity, especially Jensen. For as long as he knew her, she was always so cheerful and full of smiles.

Bitters, on the other hand, was certain they were all going to die. Then there was Palomo, who was annoying as fuck but hey, he’s the youngest. What do you expect. Matthews, on the other hand, is always trying to avoid trouble and make things better in the cute little way he always does. Bitters thinks he’s a sweet kid. 

He was interrupted from his musings as a few moments later, he noticed someone approaching them. It was that one new guy, the mercenary. Felix was his name, right? The trainees stopped conversing and turned to face the mercenary.

“I’m sure you’re all wondering what happened,” Felix assumed. Jensen, Andersmith, and Palomo all nodded. Bitters just shrugged. The mercenary looked at all of them one by one before continuing. “Well, Simmons had an  _ unfortunate  _ run in with a certain Charon worker, Locus. Though I’m sure he’ll be just fine.”

Something about the way Felix spoke and the way he smiled so slyly unerved Bitters. The others didn’t seem to notice, or if they did, they ignored it. 

Jensen smiled and nodded, agreeing with Felix’s statement. 

“So, I have a few questions to ask you all. Since I just started working with the Reds and Blues, and I know almost nothing about them, I was wondering if you four could simply tell me about them. How would you describe them?” Felix asked, leaning in closer to the trainees. 

“They’re great!” Jensen exclaimed. “Tucker is always really proud of me,” Palomo responded. Bitters called bullshit. 

“Caboose is the wisest individual I’ve ever met,” Andersmith confided. 

“They’re fucking idiots,” Bitters chimed. Though, honestly, he cared about them. Just a little bit. Of course, he wasn’t going to tell Felix this. 

Felix looked thoughtful for a moment before saying, “Interesting. Well, I’ll take my leave now.” And with that, he walked away.

Bitters was glad he was gone. Something didn’t sit right with him about Felix. The trainees watched him walk away, musing over what a strange conversation that had been. Bitters decided to express his unease by asking, “Is it just me or does that guy seem kind of weird?”

“I think you’re right. He seems like he’s always laughing about something that we haven’t understood yet,” Andersmith noted. Jensen shrugged. “We just recently met him so we shouldn’t be making conclusions too soon.”

“I guess,” Bitters mumbled, focusing on his friends again. Maybe he was just being paranoid.

* * *

 

Felix was bored. His mouth hurt from smiling and pretending to care. After walking away from the four young trainees, he found himself going in no particular direction. 

Like any other time when he’s bored, Felix began to imagine creative ways to kill. So here he was, walking and thinking about different ways to murder the idiotic Reds and Blues he had to work with. Of course, he knew their names but preferred referring to them as their chosen colors when he was alone. It showed that to him, they were just colors, just nameless morons who no one would miss.

He wondered what the blue one would say if Felix slit his throat. Would he call out for his friend Church? Or would he just fall silent, unable to speak through the blood? And what would the orange one do if Felix stabbed the maroon one? Would the grey and yellow former freelancer break if Felix killed all his friends? How would the annoying pink one react if Felix murdered the purple medic, right in front of him… 

Oh the things he could do with a single knife.

He could almost hear the yells and accusations. “ _ Murderer! What did you do?! _ ” The raw human emotion of fear and despair, the realization that they couldn’t do anything. The realization that they couldn’t save each other. 

The mercenary smirked. He just had to wait for the right time. Control would tell him when he could drop the charade and let his true self shine through. 

Speaking of Control, Felix decided to radio in to Locus and see if he had any news. After looking around to make sure he was out of sight, Felix obtained his comm device and called Locus.

Their conversation consisted mainly of Felix complaining and asking Locus why he hadn’t just killed the two Reds when he had the chance. Locus’ answers were brief and short, as they always were. 

Before hanging up, Felix told Locus, “Hey Locus? Don’t keep all the fun to yourself.”

“ _ I’ll try not to _ ,” replies Locus dryly in his annoyingly but slightly terrifying deep voice.

Great. Now Felix was even more bored. He sighed before making his way back towards Chorus, his sights set on nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this was short, next chapter is a little longer.  
> Writing Felix's POV is kinda scary


	7. Come On Carolina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carolina gets a night out with York and finds an unexpected surprise.

Sometimes, Carolina would ask herself about how she got to where she currently was. The answer would usually be some long complicated thing. Was she here just because her friends and brother were? Or was she here because she wanted to do the right thing and help the town of Chorus?

When things come to York, it’s a different matter altogether. Back in their hireable freelancer days, York would always be trying to woo Carolina over. He was the fun guy, the one who would tease Wash and the other rookies. Carolina was the harsh, strict, no fun lady who wanted to be the best. Of course, she responded to York’s flirts and attempts with her fists. Things didn't exactly work out well. 

After Tex showed up, it wasn’t long before the group broke apart. By the time Carolina came to Chorus, she was different. She could rely on others, she didn’t have to be number one. Upon finding York there and learning that he still had feelings for her, Carolina began thinking about what she felt about him. Soon enough, they were dating.

Of course, Church just had to be the protective older brother and threaten York from time to time, but the brown haired ex freelancer would just brush it off and promise to never break Carolina’s heart. York most likely knew that if he did break her heart, she would probably be the one beating him up. 

Their relationship was going well, and Carolina enjoyed the nights where she and York could escape from everything and go out to the city together. However, it’s not easy dating someone when you’re practically in a war against a large industry that wants to take down Chorus. 

So much had happened in the past couple of days, and Carolina was stressed. She stared at herself in the mirror, taking in her tangled ginger hair and tired face. It was the afternoon, and Carolina was already done with today.

She was startled by a loud knock at the front door. “I’ll be there in a moment,” she called out. Carolina quickly pulled her hair back into a ponytail before leaving her bedroom and going to the front door of the small house she resided in. Upon opening it, she discovered York standing there, dressed in his usual gold/brown shit. He was holding a bouquet of flowers.

“Hey there ‘Lina, you wanna go on a date?” he asked, handing her the flowers and smiling. Carolina was not expecting this. She was still in her weathered pale aqua tank top and wasn’t dressed up at all.

“Oh, uh, sure. Just give me a moment,” Carolina responded. She raced to her bedroom and quickly changed into a nice aqua dress shirt and pants. After placing the flowers York got her on a table, Carolina walked outside to join him. “Where are we going?” she asked.

“Well, I was thinking maybe we take a walk at the new city park and then maybe get some ice cream,” York suggested, glancing at Carolina as they made their way towards his car. “Sounds good,” Carolina replied before sliding into the passenger seat of York’s car.

York started the car and began driving out of Chorus. Carolina looked over at him and took in his short brown hair and light smile. She couldn’t see his blind eye, but knew it was there. He had gotten the injury from a bar fight back in their hireable freelancer days. York was never ashamed of his eye, though.

“So I heard from Church that you and Delta told Wash some nonsense about his heart exploding from coffee or something like that,” Carolina remarked, opening the car window and letting the wind tug on her hair. York smirked.

“Yep, that was us.”

“How’d you get Delta to say some nonlogical shit?”

“D and I are good friends,” York explained, turning his head slightly to the left to check if any cars were coming before turning on the road. “I’m guessing you and Church forgave each other after that mini fight you two had? Wasn’t he all upset about me taking you on a date Saturday night?”

Carolina nodded. “Yeah, he apologized and I forgave him. He’s going through a lot.” She rested her right arm on the opening where the car window had rolled down and looked at the scenery flying by. The large expanse of land between Chorus and the big city was mainly full of forests, and there weren’t many roads, hence why York had driven on a dirt path to reach the road.

York turned the car radio up and the upbeat rock melody of music reached Carolina’s ears. She laughed as he began singing along, grinning and whooping. “Come on, ‘Lina Bean! Sing along,” he prompted. Carolina glared at him and stated, “Don’t call me that! And you know my singing is horrible!”

“If you don’t sing then I’m going to start singing my song!” York exclaimed. The song in question was a little tune he had written, some sort of love song. Not wanting to hear that again, Carolina obliged and began singing along. 

Hey, her terrible voice kind of sounded good along with the rock music. At least, Carolina thought so. They sang together, voices half drowned out by the woosh of the wind through the open car windows. The green eyed woman smiled, actually enjoying herself. When the song ended, the two paused to catch their breath from singing/yelling the lyrics. 

“See Carolina, your voice is great,” York complimented her. “Yeah, yeah, whatever,” she mused. After that, it wasn’t long before the two reached the big city. Of course, there was afternoon traffic, so the drive took a little longer. 

Eventually, York parked in the park parking lot. He and Carolina both got out and looked around. The cold hint of winter was in the air, and the wind brought a chill. 

York held his hand out to Carolina, and she took it. They began walking together, hand in hand, occasionally pointing things out to each other. Their conversation somehow started in the direction of dresses, in which Carolina asked if Washington could fight while wearing a wedding dress. The answer was probably not. 

As the sun began to set, casting an orange glow across the grass, York led Carolina out of the park and to an ice cream store a few blocks away. It was a relatively large store with plenty of sitting room inside and outside. As they entered the store, Carolina looked at what kinds of ice cream they had.

Suddenly, she felt York stiffen next to her. She returned her gaze to him. Following his gaze, she saw three familiar faces.

The Triplets.

Ohio was sharing a large ice cream cone with some lady clad in white and grey, while Idaho and Iowa each had their own treats and were accompanied by two men. When Ohio looked up to see Carolina and York, her expression shifted from happy to nervous.

“Heeeey there boss,” she greeted, smiling nervously. Idaho looked like he knew they were about to be in a lot of trouble. Iowa just happily waved and held up two of his fingers in a peace sign. The woman sitting next to Ohio, who had tan skin and styled short light brown hair, asked, “Oh, Vera, are these those friends you were talking about?”

Carolina couldn’t believe it. “Ohio, Idaho, Iowa… Why are you three here! With some random people! Why do they know your real names? What the hell!” she yelled, drawing the attention of the other people in the ice cream store. 

“Hey! We’re not just some random people!” one of the men, the one with darker skin, exclaimed. “Yea, we met them at a bar after I got my tongue stuck to the pole,” Iowa explained. It took Carolina a moment to piece things together. 

“Holy shit. You three are getting ice cream with the three Charon workers you were talking about?!”

Ohio was quick to reply, “Yes, I mean no! Kind of? I’ll explain later okay!” 

“No, you are explaining right now!” Carolina was fuming. “Can we talk outside before we get kicked out of the store for yelling?” Idaho requested. Carolina angrily agreed and they all made their way outside. York protested slightly, because this was his date with Carolina and he wanted ice cream.

Once outside, Carolina positioned herself in front of Ohio, staring the latter down. “Start talking now,” she demanded. 

Idaho spoke up first. “Alright, so these three are named Sherry, Terril, and Darryl. So at first, we tried to gain intelligence on them, but then Mike, I mean Iowa, accidentally told them what we were doing.” 

“Ohio thinks Sherry’s cute,” Iowa whispered to York and Carolina. “Yeah they should totally date,” added Darryl. 

“So, after that,” Ohio said, “they seemed really confused. Turns out that Charon was lying to them and they thought we were evil!” Carolina turned to Sherry and asked, “Is this true?”

“Yes,” Sherry responded, sincerity in her voice. “We were being lied to. But we know the truth now, and we want to help.” 

Carolina sighed. She didn’t want to deal with this right now. She turned heel and stormed away, quickly followed by York. Carolina kept walking until she reached the park she and York had walked at and sat down on one of the benches.

York sat down besides her. “I’m sorry, ‘Lina. I didn’t know this would happen,” he confessed. Carolina turned to look at him, her gaze filled with tiredness. “It’s alright, I’m just a little stressed. I’m fine, though.”

York looked at her worriedly before saying “Are you sure? You don’t seem fine?”

“Okay, I’m not just  _ fine.  _ We’re in the middle of a fucking war! Why in hell would I be fine?!” she snapped, letting the words flow from her mouth. “Now we have all this shit happening, and I just want things to go back to normal. I want things to be okay but that’s not going to fucking happen.”

“I understand,” was all York could say. He did understand. He placed a comforting hand on Carolina’s shoulder and she let him. 

“We should probably head back to Chorus now…”

York nodded and stood up. They solemnly made their way back to his car. Once inside, the radio came on again, so York began singing. The lyrics made so much sense to Carolina, and now all the thoughts and words in her head had music to represent them.

“ _ I taste your bite _

_ I taste your kiss _

_ And I think back _ ”

Carolina listened more, fixing her gaze on York, who had one hand on the steering wheel and one hand intertwined with hers. She saw his mouth moving, singing along to the song.

“ _ And I'm lost inside a bar _

_ And I'm drunk inside a war _

_ And I wonder where you are _ ”

The final words resonated with Carolina for the entire car ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am jumping around POVs like crazy ah sorry  
> Wanted to focus on 'Lina for a bit  
> Also the song York is singing at the end is Half Life by Trocadero


End file.
